


Far From Alone

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben is fourteen, Christmas Fluff, Crushes, Light Angst, M/M, Poe is seventeen, Shara Bey Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 02:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17112458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Life Day isn’t as rough as Ben thought it would be.





	Far From Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MidgardianNerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidgardianNerd/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: For MidgardianNerd. Merry Christmas!

The first Life Day without his parents wasn’t exactly the easiest for Ben. 

His mother meant it for the best. That was what Ben had to learn. It didn’t mean that it wasn’t lonely at Luke’s Academy at times, even when he was surrounded by people. Even as the fourteen-year-old sat on the steps of Uncle Luke’s Academy, he couldn’t help but watch the skies, like he was looking for the Falcon to fly by. To fly back, as it were. 

Footsteps. Ben looked up, and that was when he saw Poe. Despite Poe being three years older than Ben, they got on well — it helped that Poe was generally wonderful, in Ben’s opinion. There wasn’t anything about him, in Ben’s opinion, that wasn’t somehow a miracle in and of itself. 

“Hey,” Poe said. He smiled, brushed hair out of his eyes. “You okay?”

Ben nodded. “It’s a little rough, that’s all.”

”Being away from your parents?”

Ben shrugged. “I haven’t really got...much of anyone else.”

”There’s me.”

Ben smiled faintly despite himself. “Yeah,” he said. “There is you.” He stood up. “You wanna walk with me?”

Poe nodded. 

They walked down the path. Across from them, one of the Jedi Masters was scolding one of the Padawans for playing too rough with another Padawan. Poe turned towards Ben, and stars, Ben swore that his stomach did that little flipping motion the moment Poe looked at him. “What are you doing for Life Day?” Ben said. 

“Might be spending it with Mom and Dad. You know,” Poe said, “You could drop by and see them. I mean, they like you.”

Ben smiled. To think they liked him...that was definitely something. He nodded. “It could be fun.”

***

The first thing that Ben noticed about making cookies at the Damerons’ house was that they had some similarities, yet differences to how Mom and Dad would make cookies. Dad had some Corellian recipes he’d recovered, while Mom had Alderaanian recipes she’d saved — perhaps one of the things she hadn’t lost. Ben was a preteen when Mom told him more about what Tarkin had done to Alderaan, and he couldn’t help but wonder who would do such an awful thing. 

He supposed he still couldn’t understand it, even now. 

“You’ve never tried these before?” Shara said. 

Ben shook his head. “I tried Alderaanian and Corellian ones, though.” 

“Really?” Poe said. “What are they like?”

Ben paused. Even thinking about it hurt. 

“I shouldn’t have — ” Poe began.

Ben shook his head. “You’re fine. Well, first you have to make the dough of course. And then...”

He went into detail then, about icing them, how Mom would put on Life Day music while she baked, or Dad would. How they’d sing along to old Corellian carols or Alderaanian hymns, how Chewie had taught him some carols in Shyrriwook. Not to mention the different shapes of the cookies, the decorations with the icing. 

And even talking about it, taking in Poe’s carefully attentive expression, letting Shara and Kes chime in if need be, Ben couldn’t help but want to impress him more. He already worshipped this amazing, wonderful pilot-in-training. The miracle would be if Poe even felt a sliver of it in return. And at the same time he was grateful that none of the Damerons could read minds. That would be awkward, to say the least. 

“I didn’t know you made shapes with the cookies.”

Ben nodded. “What about you?”

Poe told him, and Ben found himself rapt. Poe and his family were so wonderful, and Ben wanted to know everything about them. He listened, and he could imagine fireworks going off and everything, truly, being colorful and glorious. 

***

It was after making Life Day cookies that they also watched a Yavin Life Day special — and even sitting on the couch with Poe, Ben found his heart speeding up. Not in a bad way, though. It was the sort of pleasantly shy feeling Ben couldn’t help but get, and he found he liked it. 

“You okay?” Poe said. 

Ben nodded. “Pretty good. Thanks for inviting me, by the way. I...honestly thought it would be rough before you did it.”

Poe smiled at him. It was a smile that Ben swore that he would do anything for. “No problem. No one should have a rough Life Day.”

Ben nodded, all the while wishing he could be like Poe. Seeing the good in people they probably didn’t know existed. He wasn’t a good person, he knew that, but Poe was, and that was amazing. 

They turned back to the special, losing themselves in the animation and the characters, and Ben knew that one day, someday, he would tell Poe everything. 


End file.
